Creative Arts

Intent

At The Colleton we aim to provide an art and design curriculum which builds on our children’s early creative experiences whilst enabling them to express their ideas in a practical and inspiring way both individually and collaboratively. Through learning about a wide range of art and crafts from various cultures, we hope to not only develop the children’s passion and love of the subject but also develop their creativity, build a respect, natural inquisitiveness and an appreciation of art in all its forms which they may carry with them throughout their lives.

The teaching and implementation of the art and design curriculum at The Colleton aims to:

• engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art
• develop critical thinking and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history and contributes to society
• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences using a range of techniques and mediums
• develop proficiency in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
• encourage evaluation and analyse of creative works using the language of art, craft and design
• develop an appreciation of great artists, craft makers and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Implementation

Our progressive art curriculum is based on the golden threads of: DRAWING, PAINTING,  SCULPTURE,  COLLAGE, TEXTILES,  PRINTING and APPRECIATING

Each golden thread enables development of a key area of learning.  These are repeated and built on as children move through the school so that they are able to make links with their previous learning experiences.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage children explore and play with a wide range of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. As the children move through school, art is taught as part of our creative curriculum and cross curricular links are made wherever possible e.g. castles, Ancient Greece, Vikings etc which provides a meaningful context to develop the teaching of skills, knowledge and vocabulary.

We will deliver this by:

• Teaching art regularly
• Teaching a predominantly skills-based curriculum, which covers drawing, painting, sculpture, textiles and printing
• Revisiting skills throughout the children’s time in school and ensuring that each child develops their skills and techniques in a way appropriate to them, through clear differentiation and support, active and purposeful experiences, and using a variety of art materials and teaching strategies
• Fostering an enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts and a knowledge of artists, craftspeople and designers by introducing children to a wide range of contemporary and historical artists and craftspeople
• Utilising a sketchbook approach, so that children feel safe to experiment and take risks, without the fear of doing something “wrong”
• Encouraging each child to evaluate their art and design work and that of others, both with peers and adults
• Celebrating effort, progress and achievement in art through displays, exhibitions and enrichment activities, such as trips out and competitions

Impact

By the end of their time with us, our children will have learned, improved and embedded a range of artistic skills. They will have developed a greater awareness of a broad range of artists and craftspeople and be able to consider and discuss the artworks they come across. Our children are confident to explore, experiment and take risks, placing value on the process and journey that they take, not just on the finished product. Most importantly, we want our children to have discovered and benefited from a creative outlet as a means of enjoyable self-expression.

Teachers will continually assess children’s progression of skills and knowledge during art and design lessons ensuring all children are supported and challenged appropriately to develop their proficiency in art & design.

To be confident in the impact of art and design across the whole school community, the subject leader will monitor learning through discussion with pupils and colleagues, gathering evidence in an art portfolio and reviewing displays.

At The Colleton Primary School we believe music sparks creativity, helps with well-being and gives a sense of togetherness as a community. Music is a universal language that can change how we feel, think and act.

Our intent is to enable the children to develop a life-long passion for music, but also through music to embed important skills like listening, pattern recognition and memory. Our teaching focuses on developing the children’s ability to understand rhythm and follow a beat. We follow the National Curriculum objectives: that enable the children to

• perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions
• learn to sing and to use their voices to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument
• understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions of pitch, duration, dynamics, temp, timbre, texture, structure and musical notations.

At The Colleton Primary School we use ‘Charanga’ to support our music teaching. This is an online music scheme provided by Berkshire Maestros with lots of visual aids and interactive resources to support children’s learning about music. The scheme is based on progression of skills taken from the Early Years Framework and the Primary National Curriculum. Throughout the scheme, children are actively involved in using and developing their singing voices, body percussion as well as learning to play classroom instruments effectively to express their own and others music. The Charanga musical skills cover:

• Listening and appraising
• Singing and musical instrument practice
• Composition
• Improvisation
• Performing and Sharing

Throughout the year all pupils are given the opportunity to sing or perform in team or registration group assemblies. Foundation Stage and KS1 perform a Christmas or nativity play at the end of the autumn term, Years 3 and 4 during the spring term and Years 5 and 6 perform an end of year production in the summer. As well as these opportunities to perform, children take part in the Christmas carol service.

Many of our children have the opportunity to learn an instrument in school, supported by Berkshire Maestros In2Music project. Year 4 also have a term of specialist music lessons provided by Berkshire Maestros.

Through our music teaching, the Colleton children develop a love of music and develop an understanding of culture and history through music. In addition to this, the children will develop the fundamental competencies of listening, collaboration, pattern recognition and memory and these skills can be further implemented across the curriculum. Children’s learning will be assessed by questioning throughout lessons, musical recordings and learning walks.

Music is a part of our everyday lives and can provide us with much joy and comfort. At The Colleton, we aim to support and teach music to all children, whatever their ability.